The Constitutional Mandate to Protect Labor as Legal Basis of Labor Laws

 ●  Protection to labor mandate of the constitution is

 ●  How it serves as basis of labor laws

 ●  Constitution as legal basis of labor laws.

 ●  Last Module’s focus: General social justice provisions of the constitution: Section 10 and 18 of Article 2. The
declaration of principles and state policies of the constitution. Also Section 1 and 2 of Article 13 of the constitution
which helped us define social justice with its emphasis on the state's general task of promoting

social justice.

Focus today: Social justice as basis of labor laws.

● More labor specific social justice provisions of the

constitution: Section 3 of Article 13 of the constitution. Protection to Labor

To promote social justice, the state is mandated to protect workers.

The State state duty to protect labor pursuant to the social justice policy is declared in 2 constitutional provisions.

In the social justice article, also in the article on declaration of principles and state policies.

Probationary: Ramon Pilones (Pulmonary Tuberculosis Minimal)

Pilones was terminated twice. The first occasion was after working for five months presumably as a fixed term employee. After
that dismissal, he we rehired as a probationary employee then 5 days after his probationary period ended he was again terminated
by San Miguel for alleged ptb but such disease was not certified by a government doctor as curable within six months as required
by law for a valid dismissal on the ground of disease.

San Miguel did not obtain the clearance to dismiss him as required by law.

The application for such clearance was filed only 7 days after his dismissal.
SC: His termination was illegal given circumstances showing that the employer’s intention really was to prevent his
regularization. His dismissal clearly as a term employee only to be designated as a probationary employee was wrong. His
dismissal as a deceased regular employee was also illegal.

The case emphasized the rationale of the state’s task to protect workers. The SC elaborated on this rationale:

Gregorio Araneta Univ. Foundation v. NLRC

The university professors we're not reinstated to their posts after being retired in a reorganization plan approved by the DOLE.
Under the plan, all employees would be retired but would be rehired except those whose positions were abolished by the
reorganization. In this dispute, as the university professors posts were not abolished and they were not rehired, they were clearly
illegally dismissed.

The social justice mandate of the constitution specifically task the state to afford full protection to labor.

Why should social justice be done?

Why should the state protect workers and promote their welfare?

Answer: The answer is found in the definitions of social justice by father Bernas and in Calalang v. Williams. Both definitions
underscore that favoring the disadvantage in life means promoting the general welfare.

Cebu Royal Plant v. Deputy Minister of Labor

Labor Code concept of permanent total disability:

The university insist that they were estopped from questioning their dismissal since they have received their termination pay.

The SC ruled that they cannot waive the rights protected by the constitution.

Section 18 of Article 2 of the 1987 constitution provides that state shall protect the rights of workers and promote their welfare.

The SC noted that this constitutional policy of protection to labor has been carried through all our three constitutions since 1935.
In the 1935 and 1973 and 1987 constitutions, all of them had this protection to labor provision.

Quitoriano v. Jebsens Maritime, Inc.

Quitoriano was repatriated to the country due to a mild stroke, 169 days after his repatriation, the company-designated doctor
declared him fit to work. The second opinions of independent doctors diagnoses him to be suffering still from illness.

He asked for the 80k us dollars disability compensation under the collective bargaining agreement which the manning agency
refused to grant on account of its doctors finding of Quitoriano’s being fit to work already.

The labor arbiter, the NLRC and CA all found his disability not to be permanent and total because of the fit to work finding made
by the manning agency’s doctors.

The SC ruled otherwise. The court applied the labor code concept of permanent total disability to filipino seafarers in keeping
with the about policy of the state to give maximum protection and aid to labor.

SC: the notion of disability is intimately related to the worker’s capacity to earn. What is compensated is not his injury or illness
but his inability to work resulting in the impairment of his earning capacity. Hence, disability should be understood less on its
medical significance but more on the loss of earning capacity for 120 days.

Under this concept, if the employers doctors are unable to pronounce the employee fit for work within the 120 day window, the
employee is entitled to the permanent total disability compensation.

The employer’s doctors must make that determination of the employee’s fitness within the 120 day period.

What permitted the SC to legislate this concept and make it a basis of its decision on compensation claims of concerned
seafarers?

Basis: the protection to labor clause of the 1987 constitution.

The qualification to this ruling:

If the 120 days initial period is exceeded and no such declaration is made because a seafarer requires further medical attention
then the temporary total disability period may be extended up to a maximum of 240 days subject to the right of the
employer to declare within this period that a partial or total disability already exists.

The Seaman may also be declared fit to work at any time such declaration is justified by his medical condition. The 120-day
window is extendable to a maximum of 240 days if no declaration was made during the 120 days because the
seafarer needed further medical attention.
In the 120-day window, what employer issues is not a declaration of fitness but the declaration that the seafarer requires further
medical attention.